Wednesday, April 3, 2013

In anticipation of the Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day on April 17th, I am releasing parts of the variant rules system I am working on and hope to complete by the 17th. Starting with the Title Page & Introduction. Let me know what you think!

For over forty years, adventurers have penetrated into the wildlands, dungeons, and caverns of thousands of campaign worlds. In many cases, their first adversaries in these adventures have been the savage humanoid races. Treated as little more than walking loot bags, these creatures have been slaughtered by the thousands in nearly every 1st to 4th level adventure ever published. But who are these creatures, these twisted cousins of the civilized human and demi-human races?

Born in the harshest environments, raised among brutality unimagined in the cities and shires of civilization, these creatures manage to survive and even thrive under the most difficult circumstances. Outside the borders of civilization, among the vast wildlands and deep underground worlds, the humanoid races hold sway against both the forces of civilization and innumerable monsters & terrors. Within their tribes and nations, the humanoids forge their own societies, conquer vast territories both above and beyond ground, and challenge the forces of human and demi-human civilization for mastery of the world.

Far from being the ignorant savages they are often portrayed as, the humanoid races are members of complex societies with their own histories, traditions, and heroes. Among these societies, individuals often rise far above their kin, accomplishing acts of heroic bravery and ruthless cunning-gaining power, prestige, and wealth along the way.

As a player in Blood & Battle, you will have the opportunity to play humanoid characters, pitting them against both the civilized races and the monsters and terrors of the wildlands. As a referee, you will be able to create a campaign world which begins outside of the borders of the civilized lands on your map. These vast areas are populated with the humanoid races, and they await only your imagination to make them come alive.

Blood & Battle 1st Edition - Basic is a variant rules system based on the Swords & Wizardry Complete Rules set. It is designed to take characters from 1st-5th level. Within these rules you will find the tools needed to create unique humanoid characters and the campaign worlds in which to play them. Blood and Battle is compatible with the Swords & Wizardry rules set (available as a download from http://www.swordsandwizardry.com/?page_id=18 and online at http://www.d20swsrd.com/ ) as well as other rules sets based on the original version of the worlds most famous fantasy roleplaying game.